Disclaimer: Naruto doesn't belong to me, just this fic. It is enough.
Naruto/Sasuke pairing yaoi
Rated: R
By: Sunstrike
Chapter Ten Absorbing The Demon
The flame-filled, brightly coloured leaves of autumn were alive with screaming, pushing, chasing ninja children from the village. The brightly coloured, paper thin, detritus flew everywhere, going down shirts, pants, and socks making a messy situation even worse. After the horrified genins got over the shock of having their day's mission completely ruined, they had joined in as well, and all was laughing chaos.
At the days end, parents all over the village would be scrubbing leaves out of places that no plant should ever be, but for now, before the tirades and lectures commenced, the kids just enjoyed themselves. All except one, who just watched a version of himself have fun, quietly thinking in the shadows of the trees.
Naruto was slumped in the crook of very large tree, taking a break. He knew he couldn't stay there long. His copies hadn't exactly been easy to make and had tired him greatly. Sleep was an ever-watchful predator, eager to leap at the opportunity to strike. But it had gotten to the point were he couldn't have continued playing without giving something away. The caffeine and the high of the involvement with Gaara had worn off and it seemed as though the weight of his depression and fatigue would break the branch holding him up.
He was so, tired. Mentally and now physically as well. Throwing out a couple of copies to entertain might actually have been the straw to break the camels back. Emotions assaulted him like weapons, and his mind wouldn't stay in place for more then a moment before moving on to another thought or image. He realized that the less sleep you get the faster your mind runs by little, and big things, alike. Then it would double back and go through it all again like a record stuck on replay. Naruto barely managed to form any real coherent thoughts now, but every once in a while he would manage to focus on something that interested him more then the other flighty things that flapped in his head and at the corner of his eyes.
One of these reflections to absently cross his mind was that, this must be what Kyubi felt like, watching everything with jealous eyes from the sidelines of Naruto's own soul. Naruto could almost sympathize, except that the emotion was not new to him. The fox demon had merely reverted the situation to where it had been when Naruto was watching the children play from his customary swing. Something that he had thought was abandoned long ago, only to be resurfaced from the black mire of memories, best left forgotten.
He chuckled ruefully as he noticed one copy holding a yelling Konohamaru upside-down in a flurry of leaves. He had laughed when others had done something funny in the playground before as well. The similarity was that no one paid any attention to the kid in the shadows.
The chuckle degraded until all he could manage was choking out pain- filled sobs. He slammed his head against the rough bark and sat there, watching stars reflect in the darkness of his closed eyes. His hand covered his face to shut out more of the dim light in early evening and became wet with the salty drops that ran down his cheeks.
Naruto was losing, everything. His mind, his soul, even his body wasn't his own anymore. He wanted to give up. Throw everything into the fire and watch it burn. But he couldn't even do that. Why Naruto couldn't accomplish something that seemed so simple, so easy, was cowardice. He was afraid.
That was it. The single thing keeping him from letting the fox take everything, was fear. Of ending up with everything he had ever gained and accomplished being lost. He couldn't accept losing when he fought through his genin years, and he certainly wasn't going to concede to it now. The thought of mislaying the trust, and even love, that he had worked so hard for and treasured within his friends, filled him with the deep despair of the truly forsaken in life.
Naruto had to admit that he was afraid of what they would do as well. If he became the kitsune it would shatter everyone's illusions that Naruto was just himself. Then he wouldn't even have a chance to reconcile, because everything that was him, his essential self, would be gone. Forever. And the same friends would hunt him down.
He could imagine Kakashi and Sasuke maybe even Sakura, in white animal masks bearing down on him with nothing but lethal intent within their minds. Focused on naught but killing the demon that they had loved so much, for betraying everything that they stood for. Naruto shuddered but still couldn't shake the black depression and the need to give up. It just kept running, that stupid message, through his head:
You could run from physical attacks, but; how were you supposed to run away from your own mind?
Red-hot tears fell from his eyes and moved in a steady stream down Naruto's cheeks; he shifted, propping an arm on his raised leg and staring through the deep mist covering his eyes at the flame of the foliage. God, it felt good to finally cry. He had been holding back, trying to convince himself that everything was going to be all right and that he could handle this on his own. Now he knew that wasn't the case. Ignoring the whole thing had just let his defences down enough for someone to try and push their way in.
He disdainfully wiped the wetness from his face. Gaara hadn't helped at all, what with the looks that barely concealed what Naruto felt was a genuine interest in his body. The sand-nin may have been a bit more passionate, but in the end, he had been just like everyone else. Then he sighed. Actually, it was good that Gaara had been focusing on something other then what was going on inside of Naruto's head, or else the blond boy might have been in for something far worse then a casual caress.
This whole thing made him weak and vulnerable and by now he knew that anyone could just come along and take advantage.
"Nii-san?"
Naruto fell out of the tree with a yell at the close whisper by his ear. His breath hissed out as he landed straight on his butt in a shower of red and orange leaves. There was a laugh as something else, something heavy, landed on his stomach. He looked into wide brown eye's gleaming with a mirth that he had forsaken only a few months earlier to the demon residing within him.
Naruto lost his breath again as Konohamaru tackled his chest in a big hug.
"Are we playing hide and seek now? Is that why when I hit you, you disappeared? You're not mad at me are you, nii-san?" This last one was said in a slightly worried manner.
"No, Kono'. Just. Trying. To. Breathe." Konohamaru blinked and scooted back a bit, giggling as Naruto gasped for air. Why was it that children really found enjoyment from hurting their elders? Naruto could remember that leaving a banana peel on the floor had to be the funniest thing in the world. Now he just thought of it as dangerous. Damn, he was getting old; his only consolation was that he could still make fun of Kakashi for being older.
"Sorry 'bout that Naruto, but, actually," The boy raised his hand up to the back of his head and rubbed it with a concerned look that made him seem older then his eleven years. "I was talking about what happened at the old woman's coffee shop."
Old woma-? Oh.
"I'm not mad at you about that Konohamaru, it's just that most of the time it's not a good idea to tell people in general about that sort of thing. Gaara is one of those people that you don't even tell your birthday to in case he could use it against you."
Naruto felt that he had fielded that question nicely, which didn't explain the puzzled and rather concerned look on the young boys face. Damn, now he knew how Iruka felt. People and their inquisitive natures would seriously be the death of him. He had to snicker mentally at, that, particular dark thought. Naruto knew he was delving into madness now, but was distracted by Konohamaru talking which was beating his battered mind into threads of incoherency, which left no time for madness, or answers.
"Naruto, am I one of those people you can't trust? Everyone was told not to bother you about it when the accident happened by Iruka-sensei, but now everyone just seems to have forgotten! Except for me!" Naruto's eyes widened as the boy reached out and gave him a small punch in the head.
"What happened to you?! You used to tell me everything! Now, even when school's out I can't find you! It took me weeks of gathering information to figure out your new favourite spot, and when I do, I find you talking with that demon bastard, when it should be me! Then I find out that you aren't telling him anything either! What's going on Naruto?! Don't you trust, well, anyone?"
In the gathering gloom of the late evening, Naruto could see the soft sheen of tears forming in the other boy's eyes. Truthfully, he could feel a small prickling sensation forming again at the corners of his already sore ones. If he could just tell someone.
"Konohamaru, I," and he stopped. What was he thinking?! Right, tell Konohamaru and have the boy, who seemed to be the one concerned person in the village, run off screaming in terror? Besides he was just a child, how could he possibly help someone with Naruto's problem, other then telling him that he needed psychotherapy? Trust was just as much an enemy as sleep right now, and he would guard it close to him.
No, he was going to have to keep it to himself again. To lie, or, at least, dodge. His eyes widened in mock terror!
"I.I can't believe you thought you could dupe me into revealing my secrets to one who would one day be my rival for hokage! How do I know that you won't use it to, stab, me," Naruto's voice trailed of as, to his chagrin, the boy didn't laugh and back off. Quite the opposite, in fact, as Konohamaru tackled him in a hug again, sobbing his eyes out.
"If that's," Sniff. "The case," Snuffle. "I don't wanna be hokage!" Naruto was grounded, pressed up against the bark of the tree as tired punches tried to make as much contact with his chest as possible. " You idiot! I don't care about anything like that! I just want my big brother back to normal!" His chest tightened as he reached out and hugged the younger boy close. He could smell decaying leaves in Konohamaru's hair and could see a small scrape on his neck where some vengeful dying fire coloured scrap had sought final revenge when roughly shoved down his shirt in play.
The boy, this person close to him, cared. And suddenly, everything didn't seem so hard anymore. The twinges in his stomach, the fox, Gaara, Sasuke. In that moment, none of them really mattered anymore to Naruto. All that mattered were tears and the small body encased within his arms.
All the children had left long ago to the call of their parents, or their stomach's, which left the two boys alone beneath the tree, crying in the coming night.
I'm sorry Konohamaru, Naruto said in his mind as he felt muscles go slack and soft breathing begin in his arms, the boy had fallen asleep against him, and the night was silent. I'm sorry I can't trust even you, yet. But one day, I'll make a story out of it, and you'll laugh at my stupidity and weakness and we'll go and eat ice cream and candy till our clothes don't fit anymore, and then.
Naruto knew that he was rambling in his own mind, but he continued with the make believe day, when he had conquered all foes and had become the hero yet again. And everyone would stare wide eyed with fascination while he just laughed off all of the troubles that were even now plaguing him into distraction and madness. He didn't care about that anymore. A new thought was on replay within his mind now.
It didn't matter if you were losing your mind, as long as you had someone that would miss you when you were gone.
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Iruka studied the situation very carefully with a grim expression on his face. He moved to the right and then, the left, making sure that no detail was misplaced and that every inch of the small problem had been taken into account. Finally he sighed, and stood up, stretching. Tearful eyes looked at him in complete horror at what had happened and he suppressed the urge to chuckle.
"Don't look at me like that, it's just a scrape! We'll get it cleaned up in no time! But in order to do that, little one, your going to have to either get up or let me take you to get a band-aid, and not scream, again."
Tears filled the wide blue eyes as the small girl sitting on the ground whimpered at the small abrasion that marred a perfectly good knee. Iruka's ever-hardy patience might have worn thin by now if it weren't for the fact that he had years of Naruto training to make it into solid concrete. He had tried bribery, he had tried coercion, and nothing was working. He rubbed the bridge of his nose in contemplation, when suddenly he heard a small giggle.
He looked down in amazement as the very young girl began to get up and move quietly towards something a few feet away. It almost looked like a small doll, but it was moving, maybe an animal? He moved a bit closer to see in the growing dimness. When he finally managed to peer over the moving girls shoulder Iruka felt as though his stomach had dropped to his heels. He was now witnessing something that would haunt him for the rest of his days.
It was a small dancer, perfectly accurate and proportional, besides its tiny size, made completely of sand, twirling and moving to it's own music. The soft yellow substance that made up the creation moved and dripped from extended limbs and made circles in the air with each turn like soft yellow ribbons.
Iruka's teeth clenched in horror as he watched the girl make a grab for it, only to have it disappear into the ground, then resurrect itself a few meters away, closer to the door of the school building, before going back to the small performance in a flurry of speckled dirt. This just could not go on. He made a movement to go and put a stop to it but felt a hand clench his shoulder.
"Leave it. I promise it won't hurt her." Iruka blinked but didn't take his attention from the child for a second. The hair on the back of his neck stood straight out and he began to feel panic go through his mind, sharpening his senses to a razors edge. Promises were all well and good, but this person hadn't exactly been known to be particularly reliable.
"Wha, what are you doing here, Gaara? I thought you would have finished your business and left the town by now." Where the hell was Kakashi? People like this weren't generally allowed to roam about as a rule. He heard a rueful chuckle and a flash of red was suddenly in his side view as the young man appeared next to him.
"Just wanted to ask a few questions. You know, not being able to sleep much, one needs to occupy one's time." Iruka raised an eyebrow.
"And you expect me to answer these, questions?" A flash of white as a smirk lit up the younger face.
"It would be in your general interest to do so. And maybe everyone else's, given the answers."
The teacher weighed his options. He was willing to bet that he actually knew more about the dangerous boy then expected. He was also wagering that Gaara knew nothing about him. This gave him the element of surprise, maybe. But with the child here there was an easily gained hostage. They were on even ground then and Iruka couldn't help but be curious as to why the boy had shown up to confront him.
Last time the teacher had checked, there was nothing special recorded about his abilities, and, more importantly, no secrets uncovered. He had a sneaky suspicion that the new hokage might know a little bit about what Iruka was capable of, but he had never been confronted with it. Didn't want to be, for that matter. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and watched the girl get closer and closer to where he had been trying to get her in the first place, and made a decision. Probably a stupid one, but he was willing to take a chance on what Naruto had told him before about his rather erratic friend. That, and maybe the small hope that Kakashi would come and rescue him from the entire mess.
"C'mon, you can help me get her inside to fix that wound." Iruka saw the movement of a nod and another flash of teeth. Slowly they made their way to the building and Iruka didn't even pay any attention to the dangerous boy at his side as he focused all his awareness on the child's well being.
Finally, after a seemingly endless walk to the small infirmary, the tiny dancer stopped, bowed, and turned into two sandy butterflies that flew off out the door. The little girl clapped and squealed as Gaara made a dramatic bow, mimicking his small creation. Even Iruka had to chuckle as he sat her on the table. Then he went to his stash of candy. Soon the little one was walking out of the door to meet her parents with a pink band-aid and a small lollipop, looking very pleased with herself.
Leaving Iruka alone, with him. He blinked as the boy rooted around in his candy drawer for, by the look of it, another lollipop. Gaara held one up that seemed to suit him and raised his eyebrow in a silent plea to ask if it was all right. A stunned Iruka nodded back. Yes, its okay if you eat my candy, you spawn of hell. The hilarity of the situation nearly made him laugh out loud as he found a seat. If the teacher didn't know any better he would almost begin to believe that this was a harmless person just coming for a visit.
Gaara abandoned the drawer and took the spot recently vacated by the small girl.
"I can teach you how to do that, if you're curious." Iruka covered his shock with a simple expression and a laugh.
"I'm not powerful enough to even contemplate something so complex." The boy snorted, and then outright laughed at Iruka's insulted expression.
"Don't underestimate my intelligence. You wouldn't be in charge of all the children in the village if you were just some mere chuunin." Iruka gritted his teeth. Okay, so maybe this kid was a tad more perceptive then most. That still didn't explain why he was here.
"My old guardian used to use that particular trick on me when he wanted to focus my attention away from," he paused significantly and Iruka gulped. "Other pursuits." The boy studied the candy in front of him as he slowly spun it between his thumb and forefinger, back and forth. It had an almost hypnotising effect to it and the older man had to tear his eyes away from it before he became drowsy. That, was really subtle, and Iruka had no doubt that the boy knew exactly what he was doing.
"Of course, that was really the kind of person he was," Iruka leaned his arm on one arm of the chair and rested his head against the heel of his hands, letting his fingers drape lazily across his face, listening. There was something about the slow and leisurely way that the boy talked, as if he tasted every word for a flavour that he found satisfying. He shook himself mentally. Creepy, Iruka, stop thinking like that.
"It must be nice, eh, Iruka-sensei?"
"Hmm? What?"
Gaara had lain back with the lollipop stuck firmly against his cheek and arms raised up to cushion his head. At Iruka's startled question, he turned his head to look straight into the teacher's eyes, the first time, the man realized, since he had met up with the boy earlier. They were deeply amused and mysterious green eyes, very different from the empty coldness or the insane heat from a few years ago.
"Naruto's complete and utter trust within you. You must be very special to hold something like that." The eyes didn't change although Iruka could feel the atmosphere take a sudden drop. He was very, very angry now. This, this, person, was questioning his relationship with Naruto?! How dare he even approach something so close and personal and-
"That means you'd be able to tell, right?" Cut short in his mental tirade, Iruka stared at Gaara for a few minutes before realizing that he could talk again.
"Tell what?" Damn. He was left without any foothold at all in this conversation. Maybe he needed to go back to school himself after all of this was over.
"You know. If something, unusual was happening with him, some odd new quirks or afflictions? Lack of sleep maybe?" At this last statement something changed within the boy that Iruka was amazed to see. Gaara was worried? About Naruto? Iruka was left wondering what the catch was. He wasn't left wondering long, however, as the boy frowned and got off the bed.
"No, I can tell you don't know what I'm talking about." A sly grin yet again lit up the serious face, "Ah, Naruto-kun, how very manipulative of you to even hide it from your guardian, something I was never able to do." Iruka wasn't so sure he was supposed to hear that last statement.
A lollipop stick clattered into the can.
"Thank you for your time Iruka-sensei, I wish I could have found out more, but alas. I fear that one of these days I must go directly to the source." Iruka winced and Gaara laughed at that. "Ah the idea may not appeal to you now, but in a few weeks, who knows?" The laughing voice echoed down the hall, leaving the teacher seriously confused.
"You may beg me to take him off your hands for a while."
Chapter Ten Absorbing The Demon
The flame-filled, brightly coloured leaves of autumn were alive with screaming, pushing, chasing ninja children from the village. The brightly coloured, paper thin, detritus flew everywhere, going down shirts, pants, and socks making a messy situation even worse. After the horrified genins got over the shock of having their day's mission completely ruined, they had joined in as well, and all was laughing chaos.
At the days end, parents all over the village would be scrubbing leaves out of places that no plant should ever be, but for now, before the tirades and lectures commenced, the kids just enjoyed themselves. All except one, who just watched a version of himself have fun, quietly thinking in the shadows of the trees.
Naruto was slumped in the crook of very large tree, taking a break. He knew he couldn't stay there long. His copies hadn't exactly been easy to make and had tired him greatly. Sleep was an ever-watchful predator, eager to leap at the opportunity to strike. But it had gotten to the point were he couldn't have continued playing without giving something away. The caffeine and the high of the involvement with Gaara had worn off and it seemed as though the weight of his depression and fatigue would break the branch holding him up.
He was so, tired. Mentally and now physically as well. Throwing out a couple of copies to entertain might actually have been the straw to break the camels back. Emotions assaulted him like weapons, and his mind wouldn't stay in place for more then a moment before moving on to another thought or image. He realized that the less sleep you get the faster your mind runs by little, and big things, alike. Then it would double back and go through it all again like a record stuck on replay. Naruto barely managed to form any real coherent thoughts now, but every once in a while he would manage to focus on something that interested him more then the other flighty things that flapped in his head and at the corner of his eyes.
One of these reflections to absently cross his mind was that, this must be what Kyubi felt like, watching everything with jealous eyes from the sidelines of Naruto's own soul. Naruto could almost sympathize, except that the emotion was not new to him. The fox demon had merely reverted the situation to where it had been when Naruto was watching the children play from his customary swing. Something that he had thought was abandoned long ago, only to be resurfaced from the black mire of memories, best left forgotten.
He chuckled ruefully as he noticed one copy holding a yelling Konohamaru upside-down in a flurry of leaves. He had laughed when others had done something funny in the playground before as well. The similarity was that no one paid any attention to the kid in the shadows.
The chuckle degraded until all he could manage was choking out pain- filled sobs. He slammed his head against the rough bark and sat there, watching stars reflect in the darkness of his closed eyes. His hand covered his face to shut out more of the dim light in early evening and became wet with the salty drops that ran down his cheeks.
Naruto was losing, everything. His mind, his soul, even his body wasn't his own anymore. He wanted to give up. Throw everything into the fire and watch it burn. But he couldn't even do that. Why Naruto couldn't accomplish something that seemed so simple, so easy, was cowardice. He was afraid.
That was it. The single thing keeping him from letting the fox take everything, was fear. Of ending up with everything he had ever gained and accomplished being lost. He couldn't accept losing when he fought through his genin years, and he certainly wasn't going to concede to it now. The thought of mislaying the trust, and even love, that he had worked so hard for and treasured within his friends, filled him with the deep despair of the truly forsaken in life.
Naruto had to admit that he was afraid of what they would do as well. If he became the kitsune it would shatter everyone's illusions that Naruto was just himself. Then he wouldn't even have a chance to reconcile, because everything that was him, his essential self, would be gone. Forever. And the same friends would hunt him down.
He could imagine Kakashi and Sasuke maybe even Sakura, in white animal masks bearing down on him with nothing but lethal intent within their minds. Focused on naught but killing the demon that they had loved so much, for betraying everything that they stood for. Naruto shuddered but still couldn't shake the black depression and the need to give up. It just kept running, that stupid message, through his head:
You could run from physical attacks, but; how were you supposed to run away from your own mind?
Red-hot tears fell from his eyes and moved in a steady stream down Naruto's cheeks; he shifted, propping an arm on his raised leg and staring through the deep mist covering his eyes at the flame of the foliage. God, it felt good to finally cry. He had been holding back, trying to convince himself that everything was going to be all right and that he could handle this on his own. Now he knew that wasn't the case. Ignoring the whole thing had just let his defences down enough for someone to try and push their way in.
He disdainfully wiped the wetness from his face. Gaara hadn't helped at all, what with the looks that barely concealed what Naruto felt was a genuine interest in his body. The sand-nin may have been a bit more passionate, but in the end, he had been just like everyone else. Then he sighed. Actually, it was good that Gaara had been focusing on something other then what was going on inside of Naruto's head, or else the blond boy might have been in for something far worse then a casual caress.
This whole thing made him weak and vulnerable and by now he knew that anyone could just come along and take advantage.
"Nii-san?"
Naruto fell out of the tree with a yell at the close whisper by his ear. His breath hissed out as he landed straight on his butt in a shower of red and orange leaves. There was a laugh as something else, something heavy, landed on his stomach. He looked into wide brown eye's gleaming with a mirth that he had forsaken only a few months earlier to the demon residing within him.
Naruto lost his breath again as Konohamaru tackled his chest in a big hug.
"Are we playing hide and seek now? Is that why when I hit you, you disappeared? You're not mad at me are you, nii-san?" This last one was said in a slightly worried manner.
"No, Kono'. Just. Trying. To. Breathe." Konohamaru blinked and scooted back a bit, giggling as Naruto gasped for air. Why was it that children really found enjoyment from hurting their elders? Naruto could remember that leaving a banana peel on the floor had to be the funniest thing in the world. Now he just thought of it as dangerous. Damn, he was getting old; his only consolation was that he could still make fun of Kakashi for being older.
"Sorry 'bout that Naruto, but, actually," The boy raised his hand up to the back of his head and rubbed it with a concerned look that made him seem older then his eleven years. "I was talking about what happened at the old woman's coffee shop."
Old woma-? Oh.
"I'm not mad at you about that Konohamaru, it's just that most of the time it's not a good idea to tell people in general about that sort of thing. Gaara is one of those people that you don't even tell your birthday to in case he could use it against you."
Naruto felt that he had fielded that question nicely, which didn't explain the puzzled and rather concerned look on the young boys face. Damn, now he knew how Iruka felt. People and their inquisitive natures would seriously be the death of him. He had to snicker mentally at, that, particular dark thought. Naruto knew he was delving into madness now, but was distracted by Konohamaru talking which was beating his battered mind into threads of incoherency, which left no time for madness, or answers.
"Naruto, am I one of those people you can't trust? Everyone was told not to bother you about it when the accident happened by Iruka-sensei, but now everyone just seems to have forgotten! Except for me!" Naruto's eyes widened as the boy reached out and gave him a small punch in the head.
"What happened to you?! You used to tell me everything! Now, even when school's out I can't find you! It took me weeks of gathering information to figure out your new favourite spot, and when I do, I find you talking with that demon bastard, when it should be me! Then I find out that you aren't telling him anything either! What's going on Naruto?! Don't you trust, well, anyone?"
In the gathering gloom of the late evening, Naruto could see the soft sheen of tears forming in the other boy's eyes. Truthfully, he could feel a small prickling sensation forming again at the corners of his already sore ones. If he could just tell someone.
"Konohamaru, I," and he stopped. What was he thinking?! Right, tell Konohamaru and have the boy, who seemed to be the one concerned person in the village, run off screaming in terror? Besides he was just a child, how could he possibly help someone with Naruto's problem, other then telling him that he needed psychotherapy? Trust was just as much an enemy as sleep right now, and he would guard it close to him.
No, he was going to have to keep it to himself again. To lie, or, at least, dodge. His eyes widened in mock terror!
"I.I can't believe you thought you could dupe me into revealing my secrets to one who would one day be my rival for hokage! How do I know that you won't use it to, stab, me," Naruto's voice trailed of as, to his chagrin, the boy didn't laugh and back off. Quite the opposite, in fact, as Konohamaru tackled him in a hug again, sobbing his eyes out.
"If that's," Sniff. "The case," Snuffle. "I don't wanna be hokage!" Naruto was grounded, pressed up against the bark of the tree as tired punches tried to make as much contact with his chest as possible. " You idiot! I don't care about anything like that! I just want my big brother back to normal!" His chest tightened as he reached out and hugged the younger boy close. He could smell decaying leaves in Konohamaru's hair and could see a small scrape on his neck where some vengeful dying fire coloured scrap had sought final revenge when roughly shoved down his shirt in play.
The boy, this person close to him, cared. And suddenly, everything didn't seem so hard anymore. The twinges in his stomach, the fox, Gaara, Sasuke. In that moment, none of them really mattered anymore to Naruto. All that mattered were tears and the small body encased within his arms.
All the children had left long ago to the call of their parents, or their stomach's, which left the two boys alone beneath the tree, crying in the coming night.
I'm sorry Konohamaru, Naruto said in his mind as he felt muscles go slack and soft breathing begin in his arms, the boy had fallen asleep against him, and the night was silent. I'm sorry I can't trust even you, yet. But one day, I'll make a story out of it, and you'll laugh at my stupidity and weakness and we'll go and eat ice cream and candy till our clothes don't fit anymore, and then.
Naruto knew that he was rambling in his own mind, but he continued with the make believe day, when he had conquered all foes and had become the hero yet again. And everyone would stare wide eyed with fascination while he just laughed off all of the troubles that were even now plaguing him into distraction and madness. He didn't care about that anymore. A new thought was on replay within his mind now.
It didn't matter if you were losing your mind, as long as you had someone that would miss you when you were gone.
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Iruka studied the situation very carefully with a grim expression on his face. He moved to the right and then, the left, making sure that no detail was misplaced and that every inch of the small problem had been taken into account. Finally he sighed, and stood up, stretching. Tearful eyes looked at him in complete horror at what had happened and he suppressed the urge to chuckle.
"Don't look at me like that, it's just a scrape! We'll get it cleaned up in no time! But in order to do that, little one, your going to have to either get up or let me take you to get a band-aid, and not scream, again."
Tears filled the wide blue eyes as the small girl sitting on the ground whimpered at the small abrasion that marred a perfectly good knee. Iruka's ever-hardy patience might have worn thin by now if it weren't for the fact that he had years of Naruto training to make it into solid concrete. He had tried bribery, he had tried coercion, and nothing was working. He rubbed the bridge of his nose in contemplation, when suddenly he heard a small giggle.
He looked down in amazement as the very young girl began to get up and move quietly towards something a few feet away. It almost looked like a small doll, but it was moving, maybe an animal? He moved a bit closer to see in the growing dimness. When he finally managed to peer over the moving girls shoulder Iruka felt as though his stomach had dropped to his heels. He was now witnessing something that would haunt him for the rest of his days.
It was a small dancer, perfectly accurate and proportional, besides its tiny size, made completely of sand, twirling and moving to it's own music. The soft yellow substance that made up the creation moved and dripped from extended limbs and made circles in the air with each turn like soft yellow ribbons.
Iruka's teeth clenched in horror as he watched the girl make a grab for it, only to have it disappear into the ground, then resurrect itself a few meters away, closer to the door of the school building, before going back to the small performance in a flurry of speckled dirt. This just could not go on. He made a movement to go and put a stop to it but felt a hand clench his shoulder.
"Leave it. I promise it won't hurt her." Iruka blinked but didn't take his attention from the child for a second. The hair on the back of his neck stood straight out and he began to feel panic go through his mind, sharpening his senses to a razors edge. Promises were all well and good, but this person hadn't exactly been known to be particularly reliable.
"Wha, what are you doing here, Gaara? I thought you would have finished your business and left the town by now." Where the hell was Kakashi? People like this weren't generally allowed to roam about as a rule. He heard a rueful chuckle and a flash of red was suddenly in his side view as the young man appeared next to him.
"Just wanted to ask a few questions. You know, not being able to sleep much, one needs to occupy one's time." Iruka raised an eyebrow.
"And you expect me to answer these, questions?" A flash of white as a smirk lit up the younger face.
"It would be in your general interest to do so. And maybe everyone else's, given the answers."
The teacher weighed his options. He was willing to bet that he actually knew more about the dangerous boy then expected. He was also wagering that Gaara knew nothing about him. This gave him the element of surprise, maybe. But with the child here there was an easily gained hostage. They were on even ground then and Iruka couldn't help but be curious as to why the boy had shown up to confront him.
Last time the teacher had checked, there was nothing special recorded about his abilities, and, more importantly, no secrets uncovered. He had a sneaky suspicion that the new hokage might know a little bit about what Iruka was capable of, but he had never been confronted with it. Didn't want to be, for that matter. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and watched the girl get closer and closer to where he had been trying to get her in the first place, and made a decision. Probably a stupid one, but he was willing to take a chance on what Naruto had told him before about his rather erratic friend. That, and maybe the small hope that Kakashi would come and rescue him from the entire mess.
"C'mon, you can help me get her inside to fix that wound." Iruka saw the movement of a nod and another flash of teeth. Slowly they made their way to the building and Iruka didn't even pay any attention to the dangerous boy at his side as he focused all his awareness on the child's well being.
Finally, after a seemingly endless walk to the small infirmary, the tiny dancer stopped, bowed, and turned into two sandy butterflies that flew off out the door. The little girl clapped and squealed as Gaara made a dramatic bow, mimicking his small creation. Even Iruka had to chuckle as he sat her on the table. Then he went to his stash of candy. Soon the little one was walking out of the door to meet her parents with a pink band-aid and a small lollipop, looking very pleased with herself.
Leaving Iruka alone, with him. He blinked as the boy rooted around in his candy drawer for, by the look of it, another lollipop. Gaara held one up that seemed to suit him and raised his eyebrow in a silent plea to ask if it was all right. A stunned Iruka nodded back. Yes, its okay if you eat my candy, you spawn of hell. The hilarity of the situation nearly made him laugh out loud as he found a seat. If the teacher didn't know any better he would almost begin to believe that this was a harmless person just coming for a visit.
Gaara abandoned the drawer and took the spot recently vacated by the small girl.
"I can teach you how to do that, if you're curious." Iruka covered his shock with a simple expression and a laugh.
"I'm not powerful enough to even contemplate something so complex." The boy snorted, and then outright laughed at Iruka's insulted expression.
"Don't underestimate my intelligence. You wouldn't be in charge of all the children in the village if you were just some mere chuunin." Iruka gritted his teeth. Okay, so maybe this kid was a tad more perceptive then most. That still didn't explain why he was here.
"My old guardian used to use that particular trick on me when he wanted to focus my attention away from," he paused significantly and Iruka gulped. "Other pursuits." The boy studied the candy in front of him as he slowly spun it between his thumb and forefinger, back and forth. It had an almost hypnotising effect to it and the older man had to tear his eyes away from it before he became drowsy. That, was really subtle, and Iruka had no doubt that the boy knew exactly what he was doing.
"Of course, that was really the kind of person he was," Iruka leaned his arm on one arm of the chair and rested his head against the heel of his hands, letting his fingers drape lazily across his face, listening. There was something about the slow and leisurely way that the boy talked, as if he tasted every word for a flavour that he found satisfying. He shook himself mentally. Creepy, Iruka, stop thinking like that.
"It must be nice, eh, Iruka-sensei?"
"Hmm? What?"
Gaara had lain back with the lollipop stuck firmly against his cheek and arms raised up to cushion his head. At Iruka's startled question, he turned his head to look straight into the teacher's eyes, the first time, the man realized, since he had met up with the boy earlier. They were deeply amused and mysterious green eyes, very different from the empty coldness or the insane heat from a few years ago.
"Naruto's complete and utter trust within you. You must be very special to hold something like that." The eyes didn't change although Iruka could feel the atmosphere take a sudden drop. He was very, very angry now. This, this, person, was questioning his relationship with Naruto?! How dare he even approach something so close and personal and-
"That means you'd be able to tell, right?" Cut short in his mental tirade, Iruka stared at Gaara for a few minutes before realizing that he could talk again.
"Tell what?" Damn. He was left without any foothold at all in this conversation. Maybe he needed to go back to school himself after all of this was over.
"You know. If something, unusual was happening with him, some odd new quirks or afflictions? Lack of sleep maybe?" At this last statement something changed within the boy that Iruka was amazed to see. Gaara was worried? About Naruto? Iruka was left wondering what the catch was. He wasn't left wondering long, however, as the boy frowned and got off the bed.
"No, I can tell you don't know what I'm talking about." A sly grin yet again lit up the serious face, "Ah, Naruto-kun, how very manipulative of you to even hide it from your guardian, something I was never able to do." Iruka wasn't so sure he was supposed to hear that last statement.
A lollipop stick clattered into the can.
"Thank you for your time Iruka-sensei, I wish I could have found out more, but alas. I fear that one of these days I must go directly to the source." Iruka winced and Gaara laughed at that. "Ah the idea may not appeal to you now, but in a few weeks, who knows?" The laughing voice echoed down the hall, leaving the teacher seriously confused.
"You may beg me to take him off your hands for a while."
